T17
SALE OF INDIVIDUAL ENTRY: From August 1, 2025
BBC NATIONAL ORCHESTRA OF WALES
For over 90 years, the BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales (BBC NOW), Wales’ only professional symphony orchestra, has played a fundamental role in the country’s cultural landscape, holding a prominent position as a national and broadcasting orchestra.
Supported by the Arts Council of Wales, BBC NOW maintains a busy schedule of live concerts and broadcasts, working with acclaimed conductors and soloists from around the world, including its principal conductor, the award-winning Ryan Bancroft.
BBC NOW serves as an ambassador for Welsh culture: the orchestra and chorus regularly perform music created in Wales, including in the Welsh language, and support Welsh composers and artists.
Committed to collaborating with community groups and charities, it brings music beyond concert halls to settings like schools and hospitals, allowing others to experience and be inspired by music.
It organizes workshops, concerts, and side events to inspire and encourage the next generation of performers, composers, and artistic leaders, welcoming thousands of young people and community members annually through its outreach and education projects.
BBC NOW performs annually at the BBC Proms and biennially at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition, with its concerts regularly broadcast across the BBC. On television, music performed by BBC NOW can also be heard on the BBC and other global channels, including the soundtrack and main theme for programs like Doctor Who, Planet Earth III, Prehistoric Planet, The Pact, and Children in Need.
At its base, BBC Hoddinott Hall in Cardiff Bay, BBC NOW uses a state-of-the-art recording studio with a camera system for live streaming and television broadcasts to bring its music to a wider audience.
AKIKO SUWANAI. Violin
Japanese violinist Akiko Suwanai has established herself as one of the most sought-after artists of her generation. Since winning the International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1990, she has enjoyed a successful career, performing chamber music worldwide and collaborating at a high level with international orchestras and conductors.
In the 2024/25 season, Suwanai returns to the Taiwan National Symphony Orchestra with Jun Märkl, performing Bruch, a concerto she will also play with the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne under Sakari Oramo on a Japan tour. Other concerts include her participation with the NHK Symphony Orchestra under Fabio Luisi on an Asia and Europe tour, the Swedish Chamber Orchestra with Downey-Dear, and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra with Dmitry Matvienko, performing Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5. Known for her broad repertoire, Suwanai will perform Hosokawa’s Genesis concerto with the Gürzenich Orchestra and return to the St. Louis Symphony with Connesson’s concerto conducted by Stéphane Denève. She will perform Dvořák’s concerto with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen under Paavo Järvi and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra with Kahchun Wong.
Acclaimed for her interpretations of major repertoire, Suwanai has recorded Brahms’ Violin and Piano Sonatas and Bach’s complete sonatas and partitas with Universal Music in 2024 and 2022, respectively. She is recognized for her masterful performances of lesser-known works and her passion for contemporary music. Other recordings include Takemitsu’s works with the NHK Symphony Orchestra under Järvi, the premiere of Peter Eötvös’ Seven at the Lucerne Festival under Pierre Boulez, and the following year at the BBC Proms under Susanna Mälkki. Suwanai has also performed Asian premieres of significant new works, including violin concertos by James MacMillan, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Krzysztof Penderecki.
In 2012, she created the Nippon Festival in Tokyo, held biennially, where she brings orchestras, chamber ensembles, and premieres by international and Japanese composers. Akiko Suwanai plays the “Charles Reade” Guarneri del Gesù violin, generously loaned by Japanese-American collector and philanthropist Dr. Ryuji Ueno.
JAIME MARTÍN. Conductor
Jaime Martín is currently principal conductor of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (since 2022) and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (since 2019), with contracts extended until 2028 and 2027, respectively. From the 2024/25 season, he will also be principal guest conductor of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. He was conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland (2019-2024), principal guest conductor of the Spanish National Orchestra (2022-2024), and principal conductor of the Gävle Symphony Orchestra (2013-2022).
Recent achievements include debuts with the Budapest Festival Orchestra, Dresden Philharmonic, and the Dallas and Indianapolis Symphonies, as well as his presentation at the BBC Proms. He also conducted the Academy of St Martin in the Fields for Sir Neville Marriner’s centenary and returned to collaborate with orchestras such as the Sydney Symphony, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Galicia Orchestra, and Castilla y León Symphony.
In the 2024/25 season, he will debut with the Strasbourg Philharmonic and return to orchestras such as Barcelona, Sydney, and the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. His programming with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra includes Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos to works by Louise Farrenc, Florence Price, and a premiere by Laura Karpman. In Melbourne, he will tackle Beethoven’s complete cycle, Mahler’s Second, Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé, and recordings of Dvořák.
He has conducted orchestras such as the BBC Symphony, London Philharmonia, Ireland National Orchestra, Stockholm Philharmonic, New Zealand Symphony, Frankfurt Radio Orchestra, and Radio France, among others. He has collaborated with soloists like Anne Sofie von Otter, Joshua Bell, Tetzlaff, Mullova, Radulovic, Perianes, and Ferrández. He has also premiered works by composers such as Ellen Reid, Missy Mazzoli, Juan Pablo Contreras, and Andrew Norman.
In 2024, his first recording with Melbourne was released: works by Strauss and Debussy with Siobhan Stagg. He has recorded Mozart’s wind concertos, Brahms’ symphonies, and Melchers, as well as albums with Cadaqués, RTÉ, the London Philharmonic, and the Barcelona Orchestra, with repertoire ranging from Albéniz to James Horner.
Before focusing on conducting in 2013, he was principal flute in orchestras such as the Royal Philharmonic and Academy of St Martin in the Fields, recording with Marriner, Perahia, or Noseda. He is an honorary member of the Royal College of Music and Spain’s 2022 National Music Prize winner.
